Community
As a local business, with the majority of our staff also living on the Island, we are keen to not only deliver our core services but to also provide our support to the local community.
We do that in a number of ways:
IW Foundation – awarding grants to community projects
In 2014 we set up the Isle of Wight Foundation, a registered charitable trust, as part of our commitment to supporting the Island community. Each year we provide grants to help fund local community projects that tackle social exclusion. This year that total stands at around £900,000 and is funded entirely by the partner companies involved in Island Roads. Our staff also volunteer as sponsors giving their time and expertise to the projects.
Understanding our community
We have worked with organisations like Isle Access, The Isorropia Foundation, Autism Inclusion Matters (AIM), Age UK Isle of Wight and Alzheimer’s Café Isle of Wight to help our staff understand some of the challenges faced by different groups within our local community. This is so that they can respond to and support people, in an informed way, whether they are working on site or in our help centre.
Developing useful resources
We worked with Age UK Isle of Wight’s Older Persons Steering Group to co-develop a resource pack called ‘Pavements are for People’. This explored some of the common access issues people experience when using pavements and how to report them.
Making a commitment
Through the Age Friendly Island programme – a global initiative from the World Health Organisation, which was supported locally by Age UK Isle of Wight, we also made a commitment to making improvements to our services, including our letters and website, so they are more accessible to older members of our local community.
Charity fundraising support
Each year our staff fundraise for a local charity as our charity of the year; holding quiz evenings, raffles and other activities to help raise funds for vital work on the Island. Thousands of pounds have been raised this way for charities such as Ability Dogs 4 Young People, Daisy Chains, Home-Start and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.
Helping schools
Our staff also take part in primary school talks to help children understand the dangers of roadwork sites and how to navigate these safely. The talks are fun and interactive but deliver serious messages that help to keep children safe. Any schools interested in arranging a talk can contact us by emailing info@islandroads.com.
What we’ve done
Click on the articles to see what we have done to help the local Island community.
